Jesse Jackson on Health Care: A personal Story

When Jesse Jackson speaks, I listen. Mainly because, I would consider him an elder, a statesman, and a man that has been on the front line of just for generations. Therefore, when I saw his column on health care, I took notice. This particular article drew my attention more than normal because it gave an account of his personal testimony and his experience in our health care system. Take a look at what he had to say.

"I suffer from a harsh case of gout that requires constant treatment. Suddenly this year, I discovered that the generic drug I was using that cost about 3 cents a pill had been banned and replaced by a proprietary drug -- a brand name -- that cost $5 a pill. Welcome to America’s broken health-care system."

He goes on to say, "The United States pays about twice as much more per person for health care as other industrialized nations that provide their citizens more-comprehensive coverage and deliver better outcomes. This is the result of a system that wastes hundreds of billions of dollars on administrative costs, unneeded treatments and exorbitant pricing systems.

Prescription drugs are a classic example. U.S. taxpayers provide $25 billion a year for health-related research and development, much of it related to new drugs. "

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